Tonight was lazy. When I feel lazy there is nothing better than taking food from the refrigerator that needs to be consumed before the next marketing trip. So weekend meals around here is whatever is in the ‘fridge. Tonight I constructed a simple sandwich by grilling some eggplant, zucchini, red onion and some chicken pieces that were doused with balsamic vinegar and left to sit for a bit.

In the past I’ve used a ciabatta bread or foccacia bread for these sandwiches. I haven’t been happy with them though so this time I used a Mexican Telera bread that is usually used for Torta sandwiches. Perfect. It grills up nicely but doesn’t get so crisp that it hurts your tender mouth tissues. That’s why this was perfect.

I made some fresh basil pesto, blistered some red pepper and sliced up a bunch of provolone cheese. We ended up with some delectable panini sandwiches that I finished on the Cuisinart Griddler rather than the BBQ grill so that I could gently press the sandwiches without burning myself.

Leftover corned beef is something we cherish. They are plenty of recipes on the internet for using up your corned beef: hash, casseroles, colcannon. My favorite is a hearty sandwich with salad on the side.

This is a ciabatta roll spread on both sides with wholegrain mustard, then some (ok, a lot of) grated Irish cheddar, a layer of caramelized onions topped with shredded leftover corned beef. It is heated in a dry pan until the cheddar melts then served quickly so all that gooey cheese is all melted into the corned beef when it’s served. Love this sandwich!

This is one of my favorite summer dinners that is quite easily adaptable to vegetarian or variation. Can’t beat that. The sandwiches for dinner tonight were served with an Asian style cabbage slaw on the side (not pictured).

The recipe was a simple construct: Portobello mushroom and mixed bell peppers in a homemade balsamic-garlic vinaigrette, grilled, mixed with chopped basil, and stacked on top of goat cheese and prosciutto, between two thin buns then grilled again until hot. A wonderful pressed sandwich for a filling dinner. One of our favorites for warmer weather. You can easily change it around by adding a thin sliced chicken breast in place of the prosciutto or firm pan seared tofu for a vegetarian option. We also add grilled avocado occasionally. So play around on the grill and create something tasty!

Leaving Mother’s Day fare in our wake, for tonight we decided on simple vegetable grilled sandwiches. We used a marinated portobello with garlic and vinegars, red pepper and almond puree, caramelized onions with spinach and basil leaves on a ciabatta bun. It’s one of my go-to recipes for an easy yet healthy meal. I put this one together in the 70s when I had a limited budget and a co-op membership. And yes, I made the ciabatta with all its holes. Served with a herb and mixed green salad, homemade balsamic vinaigrette and a Sancerre wine to complement. As a surprise I had fresh strawberries as a condiment instead of anything brined and it worked beautifully.

A great way to utilize leftover vegetables from Mother’s Day and have an easy meal free of time consuming cooking.